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The sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is now out with an ominous message: the world will certainly miss the target of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels that it set itself in 2015 in Paris.

But the ever optimistic IPCC repeated an old message in its press statement issued in Switzerland on March 20: urgent climate action can secure a liveable future for all. Yes, there is a liveable future on the planet, but it is certainly not a 1.5°C Earth.

And this will be a challenge as it was in 2015 because the pace and scale of global climate action are insufficient. What's worse, plans for the future are equally dismal. Some countries have even reneged on their promises at the last two climate conferences. Lack of political will may just do us in.

Two years ago in October, The Economist thought a 3°C planet "an entirely plausible scenario". The latest IPCC report is not without such a warning. If the inclusion of an illustration is a basis, the United Nations climate panel appears not to discount a 4°C Earth, too. But this is an unliveable planet.

So what does a rise in 3°C global temperatures above pre-industrial levels mean? Rise in sea levels, disappearing coastlines, extreme desertification, massive wildfires, global-scale droughts, acute heat waves and some such disastrous weather events. In short, an unliveable planet.

Yet, countries around the globe, especially the developed ones, are in a business-as-usual mode. Take Britain. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government is all set to launch its revamped net-zero strategy on Thursday in, of all places, Aberdeen, the oil and gas capital of the United Kingdom. Revamped for good?

Not at all, says an analysis by The Guardian. Originally named "green day", the launch is now rebranded as "energy security day", signalling an extension of oil and gas drilling activities. Analysts are disappointed at this sop to the fossil fuel industry, but the government appears to be charging ahead with its plan.

Gone are its promises made as host at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. Interestingly, eight months ago a high court in the UK ordered the government to outline exactly how its net zero policies will meet its emissions pledge following a legal challenge from environmental groups. Despite this, green day has given way to energy security day. Call it the crude curse.

But the problem is Britain isn't the only country that is reliant on fossil fuels. China, which aims to be carbon-neutral by 2060, is similarly dependent on fossil fuels, though, according to a London School of Economics study, Beijing is investing heavily in renewable energy.

Coal still dominates China's energy mix, though its share in the national economy is on the decline. What happens in Britain, China or even Bhutan is critical to the world's transition to net-zero emission. Not even one country can stall.

A 1.5°C Earth is certainly gone, and if IPCC is right, there is still a hope to keep the global temperature within 2°C above pre-industrial levels. But for the hope to have any meaning, two things must happen.

One, countries around the world must mainstream effective and equitable climate action now. Two, they must explore all options available to adapt to human-caused climate change. Otherwise, it will be hell on Earth.

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